


221b.sh: The Timeline

by Hunter (thehunter)



Category: Sherlock Holmes (Downey films)
Genre: Fanwork Research & Reference Guides, Gen, Meta, Timelines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 19:39:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehunter/pseuds/Hunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A timeline of events in 221b.sh, the browser game that led into the 2009 <i>Sherlock Holmes</i> film.</p>
            </blockquote>





	221b.sh: The Timeline

**Author's Note:**

> After I posted the timeline for the first Sherlock Holmes movie at holmeswatson09, another member suggested that I play the game at 221b.sh. I found that its chronology made a little more sense than that of the movie, so I thought that it might be useful, or at least interesting, to have a timeline of events in the game as well.
> 
> This is very long. It includes every single date that is mentioned anywhere in the game, with citations. When they didn't specify exactly what day something happened, I made a reasonable guess.

**Late 1860s** \- Lord Shurston is recruited to the Order. [Interview with Lord S.]  
 **1867** \- Dr. James William Clarence is awarded a license to practice medicine by the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. [Diploma in office.]

 **3 June 1881** \- Sister Dorothea and Sister Agnes are spotted by another nun while "embracing in the cloister" at St. Jude's. [Marginalia on page torn from Bible.]  
 **1 September 1881** \- Olivia Atbush is committed by Dr. Clarence to the Pennines Home for Distressed Gentlewoman due to "hysteria" and possible "wandering womb". Her twin sister Helena reportedly exhibits similar symptoms. [Atbush medical file.]  
 **2 March 1885** \- Olivia is said to be "docile", but Dr. Clarence recommends that she stay at Pennines. As of 4 March, Lord Atbush agrees out of worry that she will "contaminate" Helena. [Atbush medical file.]  
 **3 February 1888** \- The _New York Mail_ reports that Lord Shurston's investments have collapsed; he is socially disgraced and returns to England from America. [Newspaper clipping.]

 **6 August 1890** \- Arnold McMurdo, a "heavy", stands guard for Dr. Clarence. [Ledger.]  
 **20 August 1890** \- Olivia is killed in a fire at the asylum as "another inmate" tries to make a sacrifice to the new moon. [Atbush medical file. The intended victim may have been sister to Lord Blackwood, per Dr. Clarence. Also, the 20th couldn't have been anywhere near the new moon, based on the dates the game gives for the full moon each month.]  
 **22 August 1890** \- Dr. Clarence begins sedating Helena because she is "worked up" over Olivia's death. McMurdo assists Davy the Hat in robbing a jewelry store. [Atbush medical file, ledger.]  
 **30 August 1890** \- Helena's dose is increased. She is forbidden to read books and to go out-of-doors. [Atbush medical file.]  
 **31 August 1890** \- McMurdo guards an unspecified item for a Theodore Moshinsky. [Ledger.]

 **5 September 1890** \- Full moon. Alice Clarence (Dr. Clarence's sister) is killed. Neighbors are told she's emigrated to Africa to be married. [Newspaper clipping, witness report from Mrs. Kettle.]  
 **8 September 1890** \- McMurdo helps Davy the Hat deal with a recalcitrant employee. [Ledger.]  
 **18 September 1890** \- Jenny Shurston argues with her father about her desire to go on an expedition to Egypt. [Jenny's diary.]  
 **21 September 1890** \- Dr. Clarence attends services at St. John's Church, where Helena is later killed. [Church bulletin.]  
 **22 September 1890** \- Hugh Shurston writes to Sister Agatha, his lover, begging her not to end their affair. [Agatha's letter says that this was written on the 16th--that seems to be an error.] Jenny whines about their relationship in her diary. [Letter, Jenny's diary.]  
 **23 September 1890** \- Jenny writes a vaguely threatening letter to Sister Agatha, warning her off Hugh. [Letter, Jenny's diary.]  
 **24 September 1890** \- Sister Agatha responds to Jenny's letter. She calls Jenny's actions childish but renews her decision to leave him. [Letter, Agatha's diary.]  
 **26 September 1890** \- Jenny contemplates running away to visit her old governess in Cardiff. [Jenny's diary.]  
 **28 September 1890** \- Sister Agatha writes to Hugh to end their relationship. [Letter.]  
 **29 September 1890** \- Lord Atbush reports that Helena has become more modest and feminine thanks to the sedatives. Hugh has apparently taken Agatha's letter to heart and their affair is concluded. [Atbush medical file, Jenny's diary.] 

**2 October 1890** \- Jenny sneaks out to visit the British Museum. [Jenny's diary.]  
 **3 October 1890** \- Arnold McMurdo stands guard for Dr. Clarence, presumably while he prepares a space for the ritual to kill Sister Agatha. [Ledger.]  
 **4 October 1890** \- Full moon. Sister Agatha is killed while Hugh and Jenny are out stargazing. [Deduction, Jenny's diary.]  
 **6 October 1890** \- Jenny contemplates pawning Lord Shurston's Rubens to pay for a trip to Egypt, but he appears to have beaten her to it. [Jenny's diary.]  
 **9 October 1890** \- Jenny Shurston's letter to the editor appears in _Modern Egyptologist_. [Newspaper clipping, Jenny's diary.]  
 **11 October 1890** \- Jenny receives her first letter from Mr. Forester. [Letter, Jenny's diary.]  
 **14 October 1890** \- Jenny and Mr. Forester begin corresponding regularly. McMurdo accompanies Lady Atbush to remonstrate with whomever made fun of her wig in _The Illustrated London News_. [Jenny's diary, ledger.]  
 **16 October 1890** \- McMurdo works for John Ruskin (yes, really), assisting with "acts of revenge on various criticks". He finds Ruskin very peculiar. [Ledger.]  
 **22 October 1890** \- McMurdo guards something for a Mortimer Grace. [Ledger.]  
 **23 October 1890** \- Jenny leaves for Bath, having made arrangements on the 22nd to meet Mr. Forester at St. Mary's church in Rotherhite on 2 November. [Jenny's diary, letter from Forester.]  
 **24 October 1890** \- Helena's dose is increased. [Atbush medical file.]  
 **28 October 1890** \- Robbery at the opening gala for the Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum. Guests' jewels are stolen along with several artifacts. [Newspaper clippings. The police report is dated "22 minutes past midnight, October 28th", which would indicate that the gala--and the robbery--took place on the night of the 27th. This is an error.]  
 **29 October 1890** \- Holmes and Watson prove Tom Hunter responsible for the robbery. Helena Atbush "dies" of Scarlet Fever. McMurdo assists James Abbot Whistler (yes, that one) in collecting monies owed. [Deduction, death certificate, ledger. _The Illustrated London News_ gives the date of Helena's death as 28 October, but her death certificate reads the 29th.]  
 **30 October 1890** \- Sister Agatha's body is found in a crypt outside St. Jude's convent. Hugh Shurston is arrested in connection with the murder. Arnold McMurdo rents an outbuilding at St. James's Church on behalf of parties who wish to remain anonymous. [Police report, rental agreement.]

 **1 November 1890** \- Sister Agatha's autopsy is completed, but the coroner cannot be precise as to the date on which she was killed. Hugh is still in custody. McMurdo again stands guard for Dr. Clarence. [Autopsy report.]  
 **2 November 1890** \- Full moon. Jenny Shurston leaves Bath under false pretenses, hoping to meet with the mysterious Mr. Forester. She is killed at St. Mary's church. [Police report says St. James, but Forester's letter says they were meeting at St. Mary's. I believe the latter is correct, as St. James is the church on the Grange Road where Helena was held captive.]  
 **3 November 1890** \- Egyptological Society expedition leaves from Portsmouth. Jenny Shurston is initially suspected to have joined the expedition against her father's wishes. [Brochure. Incidentally, I suspect "Professor Finknottle" is a sneaky reference to Augustus Fink-Nottle of P. G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels.]  
 **4 November 1890** \- McMurdo does some "heavy lifting" for Lady Atbush. [Ledger.]  
 **7 November 1890** \- Holmes and Watson determine that Sister Agatha was killed on the night of the full moon, exonerating Hugh, who is released from prison. [Police interrogation of Hugh.]  
 **9-14 November 1890** \- Jenny's body is discovered. [Police report says she'd been dead one to two weeks when found; no more precise date is given.]  
 **12(?) November 1890** \- The jewels stolen from guests at the British Museum gala are recovered by police. The Egyptian artifacts are still missing, but the public appears not to notice. [Undated newspaper article indicates jewels were found a fortnight after they were taken; this date is an estimate.]  
 **14-23 November 1890** \- Lord Shurston attempts to frame Chet Goldsworthy for Jenny's murder, then goes mad when he is found out. Dr. Clarence has him committed to the Priory. [Police report, roster of orderlies. Dates become a little fuzzy at this point in the game.]  
 **27-29 November 1890** \- Psychiatrist at the Priory monitors Lord Shurston and observes that there is a distinct pattern in his periods of madness and clarity. [Psychiatrist's notes.]  
 **28 November 1890** \- Lady Laidlaw sees Helena Atbush in a Mayfair cemetery. [Police report filed the next day--which, incidentally, is signed, "Dr. J. H. Clarence". Oops!]  
 **29 November 1890** \- Lord Atbush is interviewed about the Helena sighting and is most unhelpful. [Witness statement.]  
 **30(?) November 1890** \- At Hugh's request, Holmes and Watson break into the asylum to interview Lord Shurston. They prove that he is being drugged. He is killed. [Estimate based on psychiatrist's notes and orderly roster. Hugh's letter asking Holmes and Watson to investigate is dated 22nd September, but that is obviously a mistake.]

 **2 December 1890** \- Full moon. Helena is killed. Lestrade and company narrowly miss catching Dr. Clarence. A headless body bearing an Order pin is found in the Thames. [Almanac, newspaper article.]  
 **7 December 1890** \- Helena's coffin is exhumed and the body of Alice Clarence discovered therein. [Autopsy report, police report.]  
 **7-24 December 1890** \- Mary, Grace, and Shirley Teddington are kidnapped. [Happens after Helena's autopsy and newspaper clippings mention coming Christmas holiday, but no more precise date is given.]

 **1 January 1891** \- Probable date of next full moon, so presumably the date on which Blackwood attempts to kill Mary Teddington and the movie actually begins.

NB: The dates of the full moon bear no resemblance to reality, per the [US Naval Observatory](http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/MoonPhase.php).

 **The Order's Victims**  
Blackwood's sister? (see above)  
Alice Clarence  
Sister Agatha  
Jennifer Shurston  
Helena Atbush  
Mary Teddington (apparently saved at the beginning of the movie)

 **Mentions of Blackwood by name**  
Hugh and Agatha volunteered at the Blackwood Veterans' Institute at St. Jude's.  
Lord Shurston wrote to Lord Blackwood (among others) in protest after Jenny's death.  
Lady Laidlaw's mother wanted her to marry Lord Blackwood.

Now, how does this affect the [movie timeline](http://archiveofourown.org/works/789402)? If we assume that the dates given in the game are correct, this is how my movie timeline would have to be moved up:

 **1 January 1891:** Lord Blackwood tries to ritually sacrifice Mary Teddington. Holmes and Watson save the girl and Blackwood is arrested.

 **7 March 1891:** Watson forcibly removes Holmes from his study. They try to have a nice dinner with Mary. Holmes wins a fight at the Punchbowl.

 **8 March 1891:** Holmes speaks with Blackwood at Pentonville Prison. Blackwood is hanged that evening.

 **12 March 1891:** Irene Adler hires Holmes and he sees Moriarty for the first time. Blackwood rises from the grave. Watson has his fortune told on the way to Maddison  & Haig re: the watch. They investigate the ginger dwarf's laboratory and fight with Dredger and company, then spend the night in prison.

 **13 March 1891:** Watson and Holmes are separately released from prison. Holmes visits the Temple of the Four Orders and is later drugged by Irene. The Lord Chief Justice is murdered in his bathtub.

 **14 March 1891:** The hotel chambermaid finds Holmes. He visits the dead man's house. Elsewhere, the American Ambassador is killed.

 **15 March 1891:** Holmes and Watson deduce the location of Blackwood's base of operations and the slaughterhouse chaos ensues.

 **16 March 1891:** Irene meets Moriarty on the train. Clarkie warns Holmes of the warrant for his arrest. Holmes then visits Watson in the hospital and shuts himself away in his room above the Punchbowl to re-enact the Temple's ritual.

 **17 March 1891:** Watson and Holmes are reunited and Holmes is arrested. Holmes, Watson, and Irene foil Blackwood's plan to kill most of Parliament. After a final battle on the Tower Bridge, Blackwood hangs again. Irene tips off Holmes re: Moriarty and he takes her diamond for Mary.

 **18-21 March 1891:** Mary and Watson visit Holmes at Baker Street and he demonstrates Blackwood's method of cheating death. Clarkie informs Holmes of the murder in the sewers under Parliament. 

I don't think there's a particularly solid case for choosing either movie timeline over the other, but YMMV.

Also, I have to say, the most irritating aspect of this whole thing is the drastically different accounts of Blackwood's victims in the movie and in the game. A point was made repeatedly in the game and in the related Twitter accounts that the girls were chosen because they were loved, and that was what made them good and worthwhile sacrifices. The Catacomb Killer specifically pointed out the contrast between himself and Jack the Ripper, saying, "Lonely streetwalkers with no family have no power to lend," and then the movie completely contradicted that. I guess they just didn't expect anyone to pay that much attention to the newspapers.


End file.
